Perth Mint Issues Great Southern Land Coin With Blue Lepidolite

This beautiful coin features the great southern Australian continent in stunning Australian blue lepidolite.

Since antiquity, European philosophers speculated that a large continent existed in the Southern Hemisphere to ‘balance’ those of the north. Terra Australis was the Latin term they coined to describe the posited great south land which different navigators explored in parts until Royal Navy cartographer Matthew Flinders completed the first circumnavigation of the island-continent now known as Australia in 1803.

Europeans were astonished by the exotic wildlife they encountered. Familiar to First Nations people for at least 60,000 years, they included the isolated continent’s famous pouched marsupials and an extraordinary diversity of fascinating birds and insects. Today, Australia supports about 850 bird species–of which roughly 45% are found nowhere else on Earth–while it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of insects, with many still waiting to be formally identified.

Struck by The Perth Mint from 1oz of 99.99% pure silver in Proof quality, the coin is issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.

The Perth Mint will release no more than 5,000 of the Great Southern Land 2022 1oz Silver Blue Lepidolite Coin.

Blue Lepidolite Coin Design

The coin’s reverse features a blue lepidolite insert in the shape of the Australian continent. It is encircled with representations of an Australian wedge-tailed eagle; a kookaburra; a splendid fairy wren; a blue banded bee; a birdwing butterfly; a sugar glider; a sulphur crested cockatoo; and a willie wagtail. The background is composed of native flora motifs. Included on the reverse is the coin’s weight, purity and year-date together with The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

The obverse bears the Jody Clark effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coin’s monetary denomination.

Note: Please note that the lepidolite insert color will vary.

Presentation

The coin is housed in a classic display case with a clear lid. Packaged with an illustrated shipper, each coin is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Designers

Designer and engraver Jody Clark joined the Royal Mint UK in 2012. His portrait of Queen Elizabeth II became the fifth official portrait in 2015 (View Designer’s Profile).

A specialist in animals, Aleysha Howarth is an artist at the Perth Mint (View Designer’s Profile).

Coin Specifications